Lucy, Don't You Remember?
by WiseRosenPanther
Summary: Lucy has been missing for the last eight months. No one has been able to find her. When she finally does return to Magnolia, she has no idea who she is! Not to mention she can't recall anyone from Fairy Tail. What happened to her? Why is her guild mark gone? Why is her scent so faded that she barely smells like Lucy anymore? Find out here in this story! Lame summary, I know. Sorry!
1. Where am I?

**Hey! Just a first-time fanfic writer here! Don't know if this is any good, so please tell me what you think of my writing ability if you don't mind. All righty then! Let the story commence!**

**~RosenPanther**

**RosenPanther is in no way in possession of Fairy Tail, nor will she ever be. Thank goodness. **

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><p>Moonlight floated across the dark, misty forest. Silence hung in the air, light and hovering, riding upon the back of moon dust as it slowly fell to the earth like glittering silver snow. No sound dared to be born, feeling an appropriate measure of awe for the glowing, ethereally lit trees and roots. Mist swirled and softly captured the gentle moon beams in a tender embrace as it twisted and twined its way around the strong, solemnly calm sentries with their reaching arms and ivy-clothed bodies. This was a place of magic and wonderful mysteries, a place where the fairies lived.<p>

Lucy couldn't help but compare that memory with what she saw now. Anger and sorrow filled her as she surveyed the destruction before her. Moonlight flitted across the desolate, wasted landscape, completely devastated and destroyed, coupled with a harshness only made worse by the night. Dusty smoke mixed with crawling mist, occasionally half-heartedly reaching for the ashy stumps of the blackened and charred trees.

She couldn't believe it. He had overdone it again. She suddenly frowned as something tickled her mind before fluttering away. Who was "he"? She couldn't remember. This mysterious "he" would pop into her thoughts and for one brief, fleeting moment, she could almost remember who "he" was. But then the memory would flee before she could firmly grasp it close to her heart. As it was, she was searching for clues to her past. She remembered very, very little. Her name was one of the only things she remembered, although she knew her first name only.

Lucy found it ironic that although she knew her own name, it didn't tell her who she was. She knew nothing about herself. Was she funny? Did she like to laugh? Did she have many friends? Heck, did she have any friends at all? Was she short tempered? Did she enjoy reading? Was she a solitary person or a social one? She just had no idea. These thoughts were continually running through her mind, seeking answers. She knew the answers were there in her head...she just didn't know how to find them.

Another thing she remembered had been this forest. Emphasis on the past tense. She knew she was in the right spot. She didn't know how she knew, she just did. Seeing as how it was one of the very few things she could still recall, she thought that perhaps it could give her something - anything, actually - about her past. Something, or possibly some_one,_ else had happened here however, ruining any chance she might have had at finding a clue.

Sighing, Lucy wandered closer to a burned, blackened, and withered tree, once greatly majestic but now pitiful and dead. As she crouched beside the charred stump, the whip coiled at her hip brushed against her leg. She reached out and gently touched the scorched tree, feeling a faint warmth beneath her finger tips. Scratching and picking, she pulled away the few outer layers of the dead tree until she could see that the center of the stump was still one giant glowing ember.

So the fire had only burnt out a few hours ago. Hmm. She wondered how long it took for the fire to start, spread this far, and then reach the point it was at now. _It could have been a flash fire, _she mused. A flash fire was a magical fire that started with a single spark and burned so hot and fast that it did the work of a regular fire in a quarter of the time before fizzling out just as quickly as it had begun. Or it could have been a normal fire, started by accident.

Laughter barked from her throat harshly. No. This was no ordinary fire. While the magic enchantment of the mystical forest was gone, a new magic had invaded the air, heavy and thick. Lucy could sense it all around her, could feel the way it moved across her skin like a slow moving heat wave, angry and oppressing. She shivered involuntarily. She wanted to get away from all this death-filled and angry magic. _Well, it's not like there could be anything left of a clue now, _she thought as she stood up, rubbing her hands together to remove the charcoal dust from her fingers. There was nothing else to do but leave. The only question was, where to?

She thought she might recall a town somewhere in this area, perhaps closer to the mountain range, which was a small squiggle on the horizon during the day. As it was, the darkness concealed any evidence of a town. No lights, no far-off smoke, nor was she able to see a road that could possibly lead to civilization. Yet, somehow, she still seemed to remember a town someplace near where she was. The more she thought about it, the more confident she became that there was a town nearby and the more the idea began to pull at her, urging her to choose the very attractive option that it presented.

She shook her head at herself. This idea was becoming more and more tempting, despite the glaringly obvious fact that it made no sense. It was the middle of the night, she didn't know the lay of the land, and most importantly, she didn't know for a fact if there really was a town somewhere around here; if there was, she had no directions as to where it might be located. How could she go traipse off, looking for a town she wasn't even sure existed, in the pitch black of night with only the moon and stars for light? It was madness. It would be best if she searched for someplace untouched by the fire, someplace she could seek shelter for the remainder of the night.

But her instincts were not being logical - they were being quite the opposite, in fact. Sighing, she gave in, thinking that perhaps listening to her instincts (or locked away memories, perhaps?) would be beneficial to her current situation. Letting her "instincts" guide her, Lucy turned toward the far-off mountain range and began to walk, passing between black trees and smokey mist. The harsh scent made her wrinkle her nose. She never liked the smell of things burning that shouldn't be.

She froze before a smile broke out across her face, the brightest shining star in the dark. She remembered something! She remembered something about _herself! _Excitement bubbled up inside her, making her dizzy with giddy happiness. Lucy could not have stopped the gleeful laughter from spilling from her throat and lips even if she wanted to. Hearing the bright, warm bells that seemed to have come from her vocal chords, she laughed more. This was the first time she had laughed since she woke up with no memory of who she was or where she was at. Nothing made sense to her when she awoke and she was almost constantly confused. She had had no reason to laugh before this. Yet, here she was laughing in joy because she actually remembered something about herself.

Grinning uncontrollably, Lucy began to walk again, feeling infinitely happier about everything in general. She no longer cared so much that her gut (subconscious?) was telling her illogical things She just walked, her feet seeming to find their own secret path. She walked and walked. Then continued to walk some more. Still no town was in sight. However, she continued to walk, determined to follow her plan all the way through.

She walked all night, not stopping even once. When the sun began to rise, something in the distance seemed to be resolving from its smudgy form into a more clearly defined shape. Lucy squinted her tired eyes, bringing up a hand to block the light that was emerging from the horizon so that she could perhaps see what was slowly clearing up in the distance. After another hour of walking, she could see that it was a town. It was a town! She had been right! There _was_ a town here! Maybe it took longer to reach the town than she might have guessed (if she had actually believed that there was a town close to the mountains) but at least she made it! It would be a good place to find some new clothes and, if she were lucky, some food as well. She couldn't wait!

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><p><strong>Wooh! That was fun! At least, it was for me anyways. I hope you guys enjoyed it because I most certainly enjoyed writing it. Leave me a review if you can spare the time for a sad, wanna-be writer like me, and hopefully I can get the next chapter out soon. <strong>

**Danke schön!**

**~RosenPanther**


	2. Did we just see ?

**Hello, everybody! Yes, I'm back again. I've been writing a long time and this the first time I've ever put my story out for other people to read. Yeah...so just let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions as to how I can improve my writing, please don't hesitate to let me know. It's much appreciated! Danke! (P.S. this chapter is only about half the length of the first one and I apologize greatly.)**

**~RosenPanther**

**RosenPanther does not own Fairy Tail or everything would be a complete and utter mess right about now.**

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><p>Jet and Droy walked down the street on their way to the guild. As they passed bookshops along the way, they contemplated whether or not Levy would like this book or that one (either one would probably be fine or, even better, both of them would be good) and if today was the day when they might finally win over Levy. Looking into a bookshop window, Droy caught a glimpse of someone's reflection in the glass as the person walked by. Astonished, he spun around, his eyes wide and disbelieving. Frantically, he looked up and down the street but the person was gone, having escaped around a corner unnoticed.<p>

Jet turned around also, confused by his companion's actions. He looked around as well but could see nothing that would cause Droy to act this way. Questioningly, Jet stared at Droy. Droy studied the street a few moments more before answering Jet's unspoken query.

"I...thought usage someone." He sounded confused about what he had seen.

"Who do you think you saw?" Jet asked.

"I...I thought I saw..." He shook his head at himself for letting his imagination get the better of him before saying, "I thought I saw Lucy."

Mirajane, Elfman, and Lisanna carried groceries back to the guild, Elfman carrying the majority of the load because "helping one's sisters is MAN!" Mirajane and Lisanna talked as they moved along, laughing and smiling, being sisterly. Elfman couldn't help the smile on his face at the sight of BOTH of his sisters alive and well. It got him every time he saw them together. Mira saw Elfman's smile from the corner of her eye and twisted her head to look at him, her beautiful hair flowing behind her. She smiled back at him and Lisanna did the same, both of them smiling the same smile. Their brother grinned even wider at the girls. They faced forward again so as to not run into anyone.

Just as Mira opened her mouth to speak, she saw something that made her stop immediately, her eyes wide and mouth left gaping open. Lisanna stopped as well, the same expression stuck on her face. Elfman almost plowed them over because they halted so suddenly. As it was, he grunted as he planted his feet, lightly bumping into them by accident.

"Sorry," he apologized. Both the accidental bumping and the sound of Elfman's voice broke the girls from their frozen state and they turned to stare at each other, eyes just about leaping from their heads.

"Did you see...?" they both started at the same time.

"Yeah!" Lisanna exclaimed. "I swear that was..."

"Me, too. But it couldn't be...could it?" Mira wondered. Elfman was confused. What were they talking about?

"If it was, then why hasn't she-"

"Come back?" Mira finished.

"Exactly! Maybe she's on her way there now," the youngest Strauss suggested, answering her own question.

"The guild is the other way, thought..." the eldest Strauss mumbled.

"Taking...the scenic route?" Lisanna offered hopefully, fishing for an answer that would make sense.

"Mira-nee," Elfman rumbled. Both girls looked up at him. "What is going on? What are you talking about?"

Hesitatingly, Lisanna glanced at her sister. It wasn't that she didn't want to say it, it was only that she didn't know how. Luckily, Mirajane answered, "We thought we saw Lucy."

Outside the guild doors with Charle, Wendy stood ready to open them and walk inside the building. She placed her hands on the wood and, as she prepared to lean her weight forward to walk inside, a gust of wind blew down the road, tossing her hair around her face. She thought she caught the faint wisp of a certain scent that was carried by the wind. She paused, trying to locate the faintly familiar smell.

"Wendy?" Charle asked, concerned as to why her young dragon slayer was my entering the guild hall.

Wendy continued to scent the air. When the same scent from earlier again entered her sensitive nose, her body froze in shock. She recognized that smell!

"Wendy?" Charle asked again, even more concerned and beginning to be a bit alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"I - I can smell her!" Wendy exclaimed. "I can smell Lucy-san!"


	3. Lucy, Where Are You?

**Hey, everybody! Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It's nice to know that some people out there seem to like what I have written. Kind of a self-esteem booster, ya know :) Anyways, I guess I'll let you get on with reading chapter three. By the way, sorry about my last chapter. I tried to put some line/ scene breaks but it wasn't working and then I also found some mistakes...yeah I'm angry at myself for it. I was in the middle of uploading and had to leave to take care of some business so my editing job was just about non-existent. Yeah...**

**~RosenPanther doesn't own Fairy Tail or she would be jumped until she handed over the rights**

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><p>Chapter 3: Lucy, where are you?<p>

Mirajane, Lisanna, and Elfman were close enough to hear Wendy's loud statement. As her words reached their ears, they rushed forward eagerly.

"Wendy!" Mirajane called. The small dragon slayer looked up at the quickly approaching Strauss family. "Is it true?" Mirajane panted, now standing in front of the girl. "Can you really smell her? Is she close by?" She would have continued on but she needed to catch her breath - not to mention she desperately wanted to hear the blue-haired girl's answer.

Wendy nodded vigorously. "I can! It's true!" She wrinkled her nose as she said, "But it is strange. Her scent is really faint, like she's very far away. I can't really pinpoint her location. Did you see her or something?" The girl stared at the white-haired bar maid.

"Lisanna and I thought we saw Lucy walking down the street," Mira explained. "But she was gone so suddenly, we were sure we had imagined it."

Wendy was unable to reply because Jet and Droy came racing up to the group in front of the guild hall doors, shouting loudly. Jet had slowed himself to run at Droy's pace, the larger man panting much more heavily than the runner. Alarmed, everyone turned to face the two men, fearing that something terrible had happened.

"Jet! Droy!" Mirajane said. "What's the matter?"

While Droy caught his breath, Jet took the liberty of explaining, telling the anxiously waiting mages, "We thought we saw Lucy! Droy saw her first and then we both saw her the second time. We tried to chase after her but she got away!"

Everyone had frozen as Jet began speaking and now looked at one another. Nobody moved as a sweat drop painted their foreheads. They were all thinking, _How did __Jet__ of all people lose her?_ But that wasn't the issue. Like a switch had been flipped, they all jumped up straight.

"It's too much of a coincidence," Lisanna declared.

"Agreed," Charle stated in her ever-reasonable voice. "She must be here."

"Then we have to go find her!" Everyone jumped at the unexpected voice. No one had seen Levy step out of the guild with a book under her arm. They looked at her and nodded their heads in agreement. If Lucy was someplace nearby, they were certainly going to find her.

"Yeah!" everyone shouted, pumping their fists into the air. They were going to get Lucy back!

_**(After 3 hours of searching...)**_

Wendy drooped in misery, feeling like a complete failure. She hasn't been able to find Lucy. She had tried her very best to track Lucy but her scent was simply too faint. Maybe if Gajeel was here, he could find her. As it was, Gajeel was out on a mission with Pantherlily, so they couldn't get his help. If only Wendy's nose was more sensitive, like Natsu's...Wendy suddenly perked up. Natsu! He could help! If someone let him know about Lucy, he would come running at top speed to find their blonde nakama.

Wendy looked at Mira from her spot on the edge of a fountain and saw her discussing search tactics with Levy, Lisanna, and Charle. Jet and Droy hung around behind Levy, not really participating in the conversation but still hearing everything that was said. Levy's blue head was the only spot of color among all the white hair in the semi-huddle.

"Mira-san!" Wendy called, bouncing to her feet and rushing over to the group of older girls. They all paused in their speaking and watched the small dragon slayer approach. "Mira-san, I just thought: why don't we contact Team Natsu? They are suppose to come home today anyways, ne?"

Mira's eyes lit up. "Yes! I don't know why I didn't think of it before!" She turned to Jet. When the demon's eyes landed on him, he stood at attention, ready and prepared to do whatever she ordered. "Jet, go back to the guild and get a communications lacrima. Contact Team Natsu. Let them know what's going on. We'll continue to search for Lucy."

Jet nodded his understanding. He saluted Mira before taking off back towards the guild. Wendy hoped that Natsu would get back before Lucy disappeared. To have her so close...and then to have her slip away again? The young girl wasn't sure Fairy Tail could take it.

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><p>"They WHAT?!"<p>

The bellowed roar made everyone cringe and cover their ears. Natsu was staring intently at the communication lacrima, waiting for Jet to confirm what Natsu had just heard. Erza glared at the destructive fire mage from where she stood holding the lacrima with Jet's face inside the clear glass. Natsu paid her no mind.

"Natsu! Behave yourself!" Erza commanded. "We are all as excited and hopeful as you are - we will find her."

"Yeah, come on, flame breath," Gray put in, "it's not like everyone back home is gonna let her escape the city."

Natsu didn't listen to either one of his comrades, instead, thinking, _Lucy, you came back! You came back! Where have you been?! We've missed you! Not to mention we were worried sick when we couldn't find you. _Happy floated into Natsu's sight. "Natsu!" the little blue Neko shouted. Natsu was snapped from his frantic thoughts by his blue buddy waving a paw back and forth in front of the pinkette's nose.

"Happy!" Natsu shouted back. "Come on! Let's go find Lucy and bring her home!"

"Aye, sir!" Happy declared, a determined smile on his face. He picked up Natsu by the back of his shirt and flew towards the guild guild as fast as he could.

"Hey, squinty-eyed ash-for-brains!" Gray yelled at them. "Where do you think you're going?" Though Gray already knew the answer, he still asked.

"To find Lucy, you droopy-eyed ice princess!" Natsu replied as it were the most obvious thing in the world. Which, to anyone that knew the dragon slayer, it was. Gray grinned as Erza ended the communication with Jet. Gray looked at the requip mage. She sighed but smiled happily. Gray grinned even wider at her then took off after the determination-filled fire hazard.

"Wait up, flame brain!" Gray shouted, knowing full well that Natsu could still hear him. "We ain't gonna get left behind!"

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><p>Lucy wandered all around town. A very nice lady bought her some new clothes when she saw how tattered and dirty the young girl's wardrobe was. Now Lucy wore a pair of clean, just-above-the-knee shorts and a plain t-shirt with an odd symbol on it. The lady explained that it was of the the Heart Kruez brand. Lucy had reattached her belt and whip to her hips after donning the clean clothes. Thanking the kind-hearted woman, Lucy gave her a warm smile and a wave, walking away to wherever her feet took her.<p>

Lucy let her feet do all the guide work, not really knowing where she was or what she was looking for. She wandered for most of the day, just looking around and not really doing anything productive. To be honest, she wasn't sure why she was still here in this town. She couldn't find anything that triggered hr memory and she kept getting a weird vibe from a certain section of the town.

She was strangely attracted to it and wanted to go see what was pulling at her. However, it was for that same reason that it made her nervous. It was calling to her and she didn't like such a strong feeling trying to reel her in to who-knows-where in a strange and unknown town. So, she avoided it all together. But somehow...she couldn't bring herself to leave this quaint little town, resulting in Lucy wandering about, with no money or bags, wearing clothes someone else paid for, and only two of the original item she woke up with still on her person - her whip and her belt.

At different points throughout the day, Lucy got the creepy feeling that someone was following her or searching for her. When she got that feeling, it would make the hair on the back of her neck prickle and she would speed up and get away from the feeling as quickly as possible. It would eventually fade and she could relax again - as much as she could while being on high alert for anything she might remember, anyways. Nothing did trigger her memory, though. Of all the things and places she saw, of all the people she met, not a single one was something she could recall.

She began to be worried. Suppose she never found something she had memories of? What if she was doomed to wander alone forever, searching for memories she didn't have? Or if they were out there, could she deal with all that information and knowledge? Maybe she was a horrible person before and this was her chance to start over, new and freshly green again. Maybe she shouldn't try to remember her past. She didn't think she could live with herself if she used to be a terrible person.

_But, don't I want to remember who I am? _Lucy thought nervously. _I mean, that's the only thing I have right now: an empty head with no story, no history. _She suddenly became bold, thinking fiercely as she pumped her fist, _I will find out who I was! The probability of me being a good person is just as high as the probability of me being a terrible person, _she then mused logically.

With that, she gave a small smile to herself and continued to search the town for something to remember about her past.

**Hey, leave a review for me, would ya? Bitte schön? Bitte bitte? Oh, you guys are the best! *taps you playfully on the nose***

**~RosenPanther**


	4. Where were you?

**Hey there everyone! How's it been? I've been pretty good, if you were wondering...You weren't? Oh. Right. You just want to read what comes out of my brain, not hear what comes out of my mouth...I'll let you get to it then! Thanks for reading and I'd appreciate a review if you'd be so kind as to leave little old pathetic me some words of encouragement or advise! Danke schön!**

**This girlie has no ownership of Fairy Tail. She just reads it and watches it. **

**~RosenPanther**

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><p>"Lucy! LUCY! LUUUUUU-CCCCCCCCCYYYYYYY!"<p>

Lucy could hear the guy shouting but didn't realize that he was calling _her _name.

It took her a moment but when it sank in that the Lucy he was shouting for could possibly be HERSELF, she turned around to look for the source of the voice. The voice turned out to be a pink, spiky-haired man sprinting towards her at top speed, going so fast that fire shot from his heels like miniature jets. Lucy couldn't help the shriek that escaped her lips when she saw that she was about to be mauled by a complete psychotic maniac.

Her shriek had only a few moments if un-interruption before being suddenly cut off as the pink-haired man tried to slow down to avoid hurting her but still wrapped his arms around her and ultimately bowled her over. Her breath left in a painful WOOSH! as her back collided with the hard cobblestone street. She shut her eyes against the pain and slowly realized that her skull was not split open and her brains did not decorate the gray stone beneath her. The pink-haired man had cradled the back of her head with one of his large, warm hands, preventing her from getting a concussion.

Which was good, she decided, because she already had enough brain damage and memory loss; she didn't need any more. Still trying to breathe, Lucy began shoving at the man lying on top of her so that she could get away as fast as possible and never return to this demented town. For it must be demented if such a person as the one on top of her lived there. The moment she got enough breath back into her lungs, she shouted as loud as she could, "Get OFF me!" which only came out as a raspy gasp.

"Oh!" the pinkette exclaimed, jumping up and offering Lucy a hand. She lay there a few moments more, just catching her breath, before getting up of her own violation, without the pink man's help. He frowned, watching as Lucy got up by herself. The frown didn't last for long, soon replaced with a giant toothy grin. Lucy uneasily noted that some of his teeth were sharp enough to be categorized as "fangs". "Lucy!" the man shouted. Lucy winced at the loudness. "Where have you been?! We've been looking everywhere for you! What happened? One day you were just gone!"

"'We'?" Lucy asked in confusion. Throughout the knock-Lucy-down-and-then-try-and-help-her-back-up session, people had been gathering around and now they were forming a circle around the pinkette and the blond.

"Everyone from the guild!" the man responded, gesturing to the people, who all had anxiety and relief on their faces. Was that even possible? Lucy looked at the people looking at her. There was a man with black hair, no shirt, and a strange mark on his right pectoral; a woman with long, beautiful scarlet hair and who wore armor; a young girl with long blue hair, accompanied by an upright cat in a dress; another girl (perhaps her own age?) stood wearing an orange dress and headband, which was holding back her short, choppy hair. Those were the only people she could observe unobstructed - there were many others crowded around them, too many to view clearly.

Before Lucy could say something I response - she wasn't sure WHAT - a wail sounded from somewhere above her head. "Lllllllllluuuuuuuuu-ssssssssshhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeee!" Something barreled into her chest with such force that she almost fell over. "Luuuuuuu-sssssshhhhheeeeee," the thing hugging her wailed again, wet tears soaking through her shirt. Looking down, Lucy was shocked and freaked out to see that a blue cat with wings and a green backpack-like object was groping her ad TALKING.

She shrieked again, batting at the cat-thing, shouting, "Get it off, get it off!" Se finally succeeded in battering the blue...PERVERT to the ground, its shocked face mirroring those of the people around her, only it's eyes were red, it's fur was wet and clumpy, and it had a runny nose.

"What the heck is that pervy thing?" Lucy shouted, cringing away from the sniffling, emotionally hurt cat that was sitting on the ground, unmoved from its position. No one answered for a long time. All was silent except for the wind blowing along the streets and pedestrians walking by and talking as they moved along their way towards wherever they needed to go, completely unaware of the slowly unfolding tension among the group clustered around one small blond girl, who was unknowingly the cause of said mounting tension.

"Lucy," the red-haired woman said cautiously, stepping forward as she did so. "That is Happy. Why do you ask such a question as that?"

Lucy stared at the woman as though she was crazy. "Look, I don't know how you guys know my name or why you obviously seem to think that I know what that blue thing is, but I think you might have the wrong girl or something. You guys are starting to freak me out."

Everyone once again stood staring at her in silence. The pink-haired man who first bowled her over spoke up. "No. You're Lucy. Our Lucy. I know your scent. You are Lucy of Fairy Tail. Why are you acting so weird?"

For once, everyone agreed with the pinkette's question. They all nodded. Familiarity was attached to his words; they utterly reeked of it. Lucy tried to grasp it but it becoming nothing more substantial than a warmth around her heart. Uncertainty, and yet excitement, washed over her. If these people really did know her...

"If you people really do know me..." Lucy thought aloud. Looking up with eyes shinning brightly, she finished, "Then you can help me get my memory back!"

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><p><strong>So, yeah, funny story that you guys might not think is so funny...totally meant t update LAST Saturday, but...well...yeah. Sorry. Forgive me! Thanks for being patient with me and I appreciate all the favorites and follows. And the reviews...oh wait. There weren't any. <strong>

**~RosenPanther **


	5. Who am I?

**Hey guys! It's been a really long time, hasn't it? Really sorry about that. Senior year, getting things wrapped up, then had to get everything going for more schooling and all that jazz... So now I finally have the time and means to write and update again. Yay! I'm excited about it, don't know about you but... Anyways. Let's get on to the story! And... feel free to go back and re-read what the previous chapters were... since it's been so long...**

**~RosenPanther**

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><p>If it was possible, there was even more silence than there had been before. The wind ceased to blow and there was no one besides the group of mages on the street. All was still as the blond girl beamed at the shocked people around her.<p>

"What?" the half naked black-haired man croaked hoarsely.

"I don't know who I am," Lucy explained, frowning. "I just woke up one day about five months ago, lying in the dirt in the middle of nowhere, with no memory of anything. It's quite terrifying, actually, to just wake up and have no idea who you are or how you got to that point or place." She paused. "But I do know one thing. I remember that my name is Lucy. That's it."

Now everyone else around her was frowning as well. There were also expressions of concern, anxiety, perhaps even some of anger. Lucy was confused. Why would they be angry? There was nothing to be angry about. It was just the way the situation was. It couldn't be helped.

"I'm going to find who did this and kill them," the pink-haired man growled, eyes blazing.

Lucy couldn't help but shrink away from the man a little. Not only were flames beginning to run along his body, but the aura coming from him was the same one that had been covering the burned forest. With a thunk, the woman in armor smacked the flaming man upside the head.

"Ow! Erza! What the he-"

"Natsu," the redhead cut him off. "We all feel the same way. However, you must keep yourself under control. You are going to get nowhere right now - and look. You are scaring Lucy."

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the slightly cowering blond. The pinkette, Natsu apparently, looked ashamed of himself. The flames on his body died down and the dark aura around him disappeared. "Hey, Luce..." Natsu said, "I didn't mean to scare you. You've never been scared of me before."

"Well, I don't know who you are. Of course I'm scared of a man who sets himself on fire without realizing it!" Lucy told him, standing as far away from him as she could while being trapped in the circle of people around her.

"You weren't scared of me the first time you met me," he argued back. "You thought I was a stupid idiot for dropping into a boat party to rescue you when I have motion sickness!"

Lucy froze as the words tickled something in her mind, gently pulling and teasing. She unconsciously grabbed her head as she attempted to grasp the flutter in her mind and bring it to the forefront of her memory. She put all of her concentration into it, squeezing her eyes shut and hardly breathing. To the others, it looked as though she were in great pain. Alarmed, they began to frantically wonder what was wrong. Was it something Natsu said? Was it something else? Maybe there was something seriously wrong with her?

A warm slender hand clasped Lucy's shoulder as a worried voice said, "Lu-chan! Lu-chan, are you all right? What's wrong?" With that, Lucy's concentration broke and the memory was gone. Deflating, Lucy slumped in disappointment. She had been so close to remembering! So close! Opening her eyes, she saw the girl with short, choppy blue hair and orange clothing grasping her shoulder and staring at her with wide, concerned eyes. "Lu-chan," she repeated. "Are you okay?" The younger blue-haired girl with pigtails stood near Lucy's side also.

"I'm fine, really. It'sjust that I almost remembered something is all," Lucy explained, shrugging her shoulders as though it were no big deal.

"Almost remembered?" the small blunette echoed.

"Yeah. Almost. But it got away from me before I could." Lucy shrugged again.

Hesitatingly, the small girl with pigtails asked, "Lucy-san, do you really remember nothing? At all?"

"Well, I mean..." Lucy trailed off. She scrunched her nose in concentration. "I sorta remember really small things. Things so small that I'm not even sure that they are memories..."

"Yes, Lucy-san!" The small blue-haired girl with pig tails seemed to pounce upon the words. "Please tell us about them!"  
>A little taken aback, Lucy stared at the anxious girl who stared back with anticipation in her gaze. "Yes, Lucy, please tell us if you will," the scarlet-haired woman said encouragingly.<p>

For a moment, Lucy thought about it. She didn't even know who these people were. Why was she even talking to them? _Because they seem to know who I am,_ she answered to herself immediately. Could she really trust them? No one else she had met had known who she was; why was there suddenly a giant group of people who all, apparently, knew who she was? Not only that, but they also acted as though they were good friends with her. Where were these people when she first woke up all those long months ago? Back then, she would have latched on to anything if it seemed to know anything about her. Now, she still wanted to latch on, but was a little more cautious and untrusting as she was then. But could it be that they really were her friends?

A little voice seemed to come from far away in her mind, whispering the words, _Things are not always as they seem..._


	6. Where are we going?

**Hello, everyone! I know I updated the other day, but seeing as how some of you have been waiting very patiently for me to update for several months now, I decided to add another chapter! Yay! So, if you would, please leave a review and let me know how I'm doing. It would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much! You don't realize how happy it makes me when you do. I'm a seventeen year old reduced to a squealing five year old. Not uncommon with other girls my age, but... you know... still fun to watch...**  
><strong>~RosenPanther<strong>

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><p>Could she really trust these people? They <em>seemed <em>very trustworthy. They also looked sincerely concerned about her. _Someone can't fake that level of concern, right? _Lucy asked herself. She didn't know what to do. So she finally said, "I don't know who you are." She asked in the hopes that she might be able to find out if she could trust them or not. "I don't even know your names."

For a moment, everyone looked a bit pained after she said this, as though her lack of memory was something extremely distressing to them. Stepping forward, the scarlet haired woman smiled reassuringly at Lucy before she began introducing the people around them, starting with herself.

Placing an armored hand upon her armored chest, a clanking sound arising from the contact, she announced, "My name is Erza Scarlet, one of your nakama that you go on missions with." Gesturing to the man with the pink hair, she said, "This is Natsu Dragneel, your partner when you go on missions. And this is his Exceed, Happy. They care about you very much, Lucy. You are their special nakama."

Lucy didn't know what to say in response to the grinning Natsu and Happy. Thankfully, Erza moved on as though nothing was awkward for Lucy, to which she was grateful. "This is Wendy Marvel and her Exceed, Charle." The small blue haired girl with pigtails, and the white cat, both waved at her. "This is Levy McGarden, your very good friend." The bluenette in orange placed one hand behind her back and smiled, waving with her other hand. "This is Gray Fullbuster, who also accompaines you when you go on missions."

Lucy looked at Gray, then promptly screeched as her eyes popped out of her head. "What happened to your clothes?!"

Looking down, Gray shouted, "What the hell?!"

Somewhere close beyond Gray, a woman's voice swooned, "Ooooh, Gray-sama!" Lucy could see little hearts floating up from a single spot in the crowd.

"Put some clothes on, exhibitionist!" Natsu snarled at Gray, who was in the middle of putting on his shirt.

"You wanna go, flame breath?" Gray barked back, shirt forotten.

"Bring it on, ice princess!"

"I'm going to crush you, ash for brains!"

"Like hell, ice prick!"

By this time they were both in the other's face, shouting loudly. Natsu's fists were on fire and ice coated Gray's hands. Lucy began to panic, wondering what was going on, how it had escalated so quickly, and why nobody was doing anything to stop it.

"You two wouldn't be fighting, would you?" a dark, omnimous voice asked. Lucy saw Erza glaring menacingly at Natsu and Gray, both of whom froze at the same while sweat began pouring down their faces. Immediately, they grabbed ahold of each other by wrapping an arm around the other's shoulder's.

"N-no, Erza, of course not. We're best friends!" Gray manged to stutter out, the biggest false smile Lucy had ever seen plastered on his face.

"Aye!" Natsu echoed, the same smile that Gray had also on his face.

"Good," Erza responded. "I'm glad to see you two getting along so well."

There were a few snickers in the crowd while others sweat dropped. Something about this whole situation felt familiar to Lucy. She couldn't quite put her finger on it... but it felt as though she were coming home. Looking at all these strange people who seemed to have some form of mental disability, she was definately uneasy and cautious, yet at the same she felt as though she were being engulfed in friendly warmth.

Lucy didn't know why. And she certainly didn't know how, but the next thing she knew, she was being ushered along the street by a giant group of people who were all eagerly talking and guiding her to an unknown destination. While there was some form of excited energy propelling her from behind, it was Natsu, who had grabbed her by the wrist and started pulling her forward, that was the greatest "motivating factor" to go wherever they wanted her to go. If she didn't comply, she had a feeling that Natsu would pick her up and forcibly take her to... wherever their destination was. She rationalized that just going along with things was the safest way to keep her from danger.

Although she wasn't sure any of these people would ever hurt her. Glancing around, she saw that she just seemed too important to them for them to hurt her in any way. Maybe they really did know her. Maybe they really were her friends. She felt a glimmer of hope rise up inside her at the prospect, and she began to follow Natus along a little more eagerly. When Natsu felt the resistance lessen, he looked back to see Lucy pick up her pace a little as excitement began to slowly shine in her eyes. Grinning uncontrollably, Natsu faced forward again as he started to pull Lucy along to the guild hall more quickly, anxious to have her back in her rightful home with all of her family, friends, and nakama.

She had been gone too long, and everything just hadn't been the same since the busty blond had gone missing. Lucy hadn't been there to kick Natsu and Happy out of her apartment. Lucy wasn't there to loudly complain about not having enough money for her rent because their reward had been used to pay for all the damage Natsu had caused. She hadn't been there when Erza and Levy needed someone to talk to, and even Juvia had to admit that once her love rival was gone, it wasn't as fun to rub in her victories with Gray-sama anymore.

Lucy also wasn't there to yell at Happy for being a stupid Neko or to threaten Gray and Natsu to go get Erza as they fought. Instead, Natsu and Gray hadn't fought once since Lucy disappeared, so when they had begun throwing insults at each other and getting in one another's face, the guild members had been relieved. Happy even. Things were going to turn out all right. They always did. Because they were Fairy Tail.


	7. Is This Home?

**Hey there, guys! How goes it? Another irregular update. Sorry 'bout that. I just really suck at being a regular updater. Anyways. I hope you enjoy this newest chapter!**

**~RosenPanther**

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><p>The guild came into sight, large and majestic, looking like a giant castle that sat amongst a small village. A large sign across the top of the front gates bodly declared its name: Fairy Tail. A strange symbol was also on the sign. It was the same mark on Gray's chest and Natsu's shoulder. For some reason, Lucy impulsively looked down at the back of her right hand. Nothing was there. Just her pale, unmarked skin. So why did she look? She knew there was nothing there and yet... she had looked anyways.<p>

Shaking her head at herself, she struggled to keep up with Natsu's ever growing enthusiasm and excitement. He rushed her through the giant wooden doors before she could get a proper look at the guild. He stopped abruptly just inside the threshold and hollered, "Minna! Look! Lucy's back!"

Something about that statement, the way Natsu said it, wound familiarly around Lucy's heart. With those words, however, Lucy suddenly felt the eyes of everyone in the giant hall burning hotly into her. Nervously she shifted closer to Natsu, whom she felt, oddly enough, would protect her no matter what. The silence in the room continued, becoming heavy and oppressive until a voice shouted, "Lucy, my child!" Like that, the voice had broken the spell that seemed to hold everyone captive. All at once, everyone jumped up and began rushing towards Lucy, a massive wall of people shouting so loudly and incoherently that Lucy couldn't understand a thing they were saying. She let out a shriek, fearing that they were going to run her down, and quickly hid herself behind the closest person to her - which just happened to be Natsu.

She tightly gripped the back of his one-sleeved shirt thing, closing her eyes and pressing as close to the man who could light himself on fire as she could without climbing on top of him. She hid her face against his muscled back, praying that the man in front of her would deter the stampeding people. She felt his shoulders shift as he tried to turn and look at her over his shoulder as she clung to his back.

"Luce?" he questioned, clearly confused as to why she was hiding. Before he could ask her why she was using him as a shield, the members of the guild surrounded them once more. Some shouted, others laughed, and everyine else cried as large grins stretched their mouths wide. Lucy cautiously opened an eye, peeking out at the people around her. "Luce, it's okay," Natus said reassuringly, turning around to grasp her biceps and firmly hold her in place. "These are your guildmates. Your nakama. They just want to see you after you've been gone so long."

"Gone so long?" she echoed in confusion, trying to ignore the babbling people forming a circle around them. Lucy glanced from side to side as they closed in, reaching out to touch her anywhere they could reach. Nervous, Lucy pressed closer to Natsu.

"Yeah," Natsu replied, his eyes clouding over with some emotion that Lucy couldn't name. "You've been gone for eight months. We've been looking for you for almost a year." After he finished speaking, he lifted his gaze to look her in the eye, his own eyes clear once again. "We never gave up on you because you're our nakama. That's what Fairy Tail does best: never give up, especially in our nakama."

Lucy couldn't help but stare after Natsu had finished his little passionate speech. She was filled to the brim with warmth and a sense of being cared for. There was no way that this spikey, pink-haired man could be lying. These last five months that she had been wandering aorund alone, she had learned to tell when someone was lying. She had to do it in order to survive. Glancing around at the people still surrounding her, she could practically feel their love and friendship pressing into her skin, all of it directed at her. She looked back at Natsu and saw his eyes full of hope. For the first time since she was attacked by these strange people, she began to believe and trust them. Tears pricked at her eyes and Natsu's onyx ones opened wide in panic.

"A-ah! Luce! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" His confusion and uncertainty set the tears free. Wailing, Lucy slumped to her knees, threw her head back, and sobbed uncontrollably. Her loud wailing and crying made everyone fall silent in shock. They all looked around at each other, unsure what had happened to cause this sudden onslaught of tears from their newly-returned nakama. Natsu crouched in front of Lucy, kind of fluttering his hands uselessly as he tried to figure out how to fix a crying Lucy.

Lucy just sobbed and cried, all emotions from the last five months finally breaking free. She had been alone and scared, wandering from place to place, and almost always sleeping outside every night in the dark and cold. She had allowed herself to cry once or twice during those long months, but no more than that. Crying would not help her situation. Neither would wallowing in fear or depression, and giving up was something she had been too afraid to do. So she buried all the uncertainty, fear, desperation, lonliness, and pain. But now it was all coming out under the force of these strangers' kindness and warmth. Lucy hardly knew what to do with herself now that she felt she could rest easy with these people. She would be taken care of, that she knew. And it brought her comfort even as she cried.


End file.
